HealthDay (12/27, Mundell) reports, “For the growing number of American seniors who live alone, having a beloved dog or cat by their side could help them maintain a healthy brain.” According to new research involving more than 7,900 people averaging 66 years of age, “those who lived alone were able to stave off losses in memory and thinking if they had a pet,” although “pet ownership didn’t seem to affect the cognition of older folks who lived with others.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Pets Bring Health Boost to Single Seniors’ Brains: Study,” Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, December 27, 2023

Psychiatric News (12/27) reports, “A volunteer program that engages lonely older adults in delivering psychosocial interventions to other lonely older adults benefited the volunteers themselves by reducing their loneliness, stress, and depressive symptoms and increasing their social engagement, according to study.” Researchers found that “volunteers reported medium-sized reductions in their loneliness on the UCLA and De Long Gierveld scales compared with the control group.”

Additionally, “the volunteer group reported increased engagement with their social network (small effect), decreased perceived stress (medium effect), and depressive symptoms after six months (small effect).” The findings were published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Older Volunteers Delivering Loneliness Interventions Found to Be Less Lonely Themselves,” APA Psychiatric News Alert, December 27, 2023

The New York Times (12/28, Caron, G. Smith) reports, “Since the height of the pandemic, there has been a cultural shift in the way we talk about mental health.” And “now that we’re paying more attention to our inner lives, it’s also essential that we take action.

Fortunately, there are a number of things that everyone can do to nourish their mental health and find moments of joy.” The Times outlines several “tips from the past year” to do so “as we prepare to enter 2024.” For example, while “it’s normal to feel anxious from time to time,” having “some anxiety can actually be useful.”

When asked “how much anxiety is too much,” American Psychiatric Association President Petros Levounis, MD, MA, said, “If you start to notice that worry and fear are there constantly, that is a signal that you need some help.”

Related Links:

— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (12/27, Thompson) reports, “A rising tide of cannabis-related mental health problems is resulting from the widespread legalization of recreational weed in the United States, warns a new evidence review.” Researchers found that “nearly one in five Americans aged 12 and older used marijuana in 2021, and more than 16 million meet the criteria for a diagnosis of cannabis use disorder.” Additionally, “nearly half of those with cannabis use disorder have another psychiatric condition like anxiety, major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, said review author Dr. David Gorelick.” The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Marijuana Use Increasingly Linked to Addiction, Psychosis,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, December 27, 2023

MedPage Today (12/26, George) reports, “Four new risk factors for young-onset dementia were identified in the prospective U.K. Biobank study.” According to the findings, “orthostatic hypotension, vitamin D deficiency, high C-reactive protein levels, and social isolation emerged as new risk factors for dementia before age 65.” The results were published in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)